Two Kings
by LoveFueledHate
Summary: One king has fallen, the other forced to resign. It's finally time to end the game right. The tragic story of their intertwining lives and of their deaths.


**I just edited this so it should read a bit smoother  
>Any feedback, negative or positive, would be much <strong>**appreciated****!**

**Disclaimer: Trust me if I owned any of these characters X3 and FC would not have ended the way they did and FC would probably be rated R. XD But they're Marvel's, not mine. :)**

**Anyway, Enjoy.**

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><p><strong>Two Kings<br>**

Erik closed his eyes as he felt the brisk November air wrap around him. He shivered, his clothes proving to be too thin to protect him from the cold. Cold. That was all he ever felt now, so it hardly made a difference to him if he wore enough layers or not. The strong wind whispered through the tall trees that surrounded the park, he listened, his eyes closed he sat silently in front of a chessboard. It was set up as if he was waiting for someone to come and take the place on the other side. He was waiting for his equal, a white king to his own black king. But no one was coming; no one would take up the challenge, not ever again.

_Charles…_

Hesitating he reached out, setting his hand gently down on the stone table next to the board, when he felt nothing but the cold he opened his eyes. He thought back to the times he spent sitting in this very position, however those times he sat with another sitting across from him, an aged hand resting beneath his own. Where had he gone so wrong that he lost that one gentle touch and the soft laughter as the man that once sat across from him would remind him that it was his move? It was then he looked from his withered hand on that cold stone to the empty space in front of him. Before his tired eyes stood nothing, no one, not even the stone seat that had once been there but was removed some years ago to make way for a wheelchair.

Once, even when he was all alone, the soft hum of metal, which he could manipulate, kept him company. He was never truly alone when he could hear the singing material calling him to control it. But now he could no longer hear it, it was gone because his power was gone. The power that once made him the most feared man in the world had been long since stripped from him by people who feared him, leaving nothing but a weak old man holding a lifelong grudge.

Something soft touched the back of his hand, it was warm, gentle, caressing. Turning his attention from the life he once knew to his hand he saw a younger one, the finger tips rested on his old knuckles. His eyes slowly followed the trail to the youngster's face starting with his the pale hand, up the slender arm hidden by a light brown over coat, his attention pulled to the man's long pale neck, mostly hidden by a ragged black scarf but his gaze stopped once he set eyes on soft red lips that held the faintest of smiles. After a long moment of gazing at those lips, finally their eyes locked, green that held flecks of steel and the brightest blue of the ocean. He knew those eyes; in all of his life he had never once seen another pair quite like those. The man's hand moved from Erik's over to claim the white king, drawing Erik's to the piece as he placed it on the middle of the board, gently tipping it over. It was then their gazes locked once more.

_My friend…_

Tears began to cloud the pure blue, swelling at the corners and threatening to fall, threatening to stain pale cheeks with red tracks. Magneto stood, no, he was no longer Magneto, no longer the man that bent metal to his will, he was Erik, Erik Lehnsherr, just another human.

Erik stood and cupped the younger man's cold cheeks with his aged hands, wiping the offending tears away just as they began to fall. "Charles..." This was Charles, his Charles, not Professor X, not the man that had died before his eyes, not the man he confined to a wheelchair. The wheelchair... Erik looked down and smiled, yes, this was his Charles, standing before him as his equal. Red lips parted slightly as his hands came to rest lovingly over Erik's as they once had done many years ago.

Erik's vision clouded with his own tears, tears of joy for seeing the man he thought he had lost. He _had _lost, but he couldn't have lost him, here he was, standing before him plain as day. A tear escaped and rushed down his thin, aged cheek. A single tear, just like the day Charles had taught him to control his true power, not with rage, not with serenity but with in between, a perfect balance of the two. That day Charles had leaned closer, wiping Erik's tear away as well as his own, that day he pressed those soft lips to Erik's, but the kiss went unreturned as Erik stood in shock. The young professor had noticed the lack of response and quickly had made an exit, embarrassed to have let his feelings get control of him and upset that Erik didn't return them.

But that night Erik had went to Charles' room and returned those feelings in full.

Charles' candy apple red lips parted as he inhaled sharply, his back arching off the bed as his fingers and toes curled into the sheets. His body was pale and beautiful as it shined in the moonlight that shined through the windows of the bedroom. Erik had been unable to take his eyes off of the beautiful sight of the man withering in ecstasy beneath him. As the telepath had cried out his name as he came completely undone Erik whispered his in return. It was a night neither one of them would ever forget nor ever regret. Both would forever treasure the first night they spent in each other's' arms because after tomorrow it would be the last night for many years to come.

_I love you…__**  
><strong>_

After he left Charles on the beach all he felt was lost. He had completed his life's goal, the one event that had mattered more than anything to him... Before he spent the night with Charles. Still he had killed Shaw, the man that had caused him so much pain throughout his life, but Charles had been right, it had not brought him peace, not like having Charles in his arms had. He thought it had until Charles told him otherwise and he stood, letting the agent have a broken, bleeding Charles. When he walked away that was when any trace of peace he had gained from his time at the mansion, with the children, with Charles, vanished. He lost himself, but more importantly he had thought he lost Charles, the one person since his mother he had felt closest to. For so long he blamed the humans for tearing them apart, he even blamed Charles for being too naïve and letting it end until he finally accepted it was all him. He had left Charles.

_Will you wait__ for me__..?_

Since the moment he left he only thought of going back, of begging Charles to forgive him, begging to let him be with him again. When he finally gave into those urges he took the helmet from his head and let it fall to the floor. As rolled a few feet away and stopped he felt a presence calling to him, pulling him to follow. Pushing the feeling aside he then processed to strip himself of his silly costume. He stripped himself of 'Magneto' and walked once again as Erik to the mansion. As he moved through the halls he felt the pull grow stronger, urging him forward, passed faces he'd never seen before, out of the reach of voices he once knew calling threats after him as he made his way to Charles' room.

There he was, on the balcony sitting quietly in his wheelchair, a book resting open on his lap as he stared out at the twilight beyond the treetops. His useless legs covered by a blanket, to protect against cold he couldn't feel, a black scarf wrapped around his neck, tucked into a warm coat. The feeling of the pull was strongest as he stood in the bedroom, looking out at Charles. Erik knew Charles knew he was there, so why was he not looking at him? Did he not want to see him..? The fear of being turned away slowly twisted in his gut as he moved closer to his old friend. Erik stopped when he heard a ragged intake of air, as if Charles was trying to hide a sob, or about to.

The last traces of the sun's touch faded from the sky, letting the night take hold, it was then Charles turned to look at him, his beautiful blue eyes brighter than they had ever seemed to be, tear tracks stained his cheeks. "Erik..." His voice was small, weak, despite him trying to use the long silence between them to find strength within that he needed to face his old friend. "I've been... Searching for you." as if that was his cue Erik closed the gap between them and fell to his knees in front of his old friend. Quickly, he wiped the freshly fallen tears from his friend's face, while Charles leaned into the soft touch from the hard, calloused hands.

_I need you…_

Every evening, as the sun was going down Charles had sat out on the balcony and reached out, as far as he could with his power. All in hopes for finding and guiding the man that now knelt in front of him back to him. "My friend... My love..." Erik whispered as Charles pulled him closed, held him, clung to him as if his life depended on it. "Forgive me." Charles' fingers laced themselves into Erik's short, dark, already graying hair. He had forgiven him, he had forgiven him the moment he had taken the helmet off and let Charles guide him back to his arms.

"Why did you go..?" His voice was again small, fragile, barely a whisper as he locked eyes with Erik, who looked into those deep pools and gave him a worn smile. Charles was so beautiful illuminated in the light of the moon. Erik closed his eyes and opened his mind completely to Charles. In a single moment the telepath understood, he felt all Erik had in these passed years, he felt the strong lose that threatened to suffocate him with every breath, the love he felt that nearly stopped his heart whenever he thought of Charles, the guilt and self-hatred that overwhelmed him in his waking hours as well as in his nightmares.

Soft lips pressed to Erik's just like they had the first time but this time he returned it immediately, hunger, want and pure need drove him as he laced his fingers in Charles' thinning hair, pulling the man closer. His mouth was hot and inviting as he parted his red lips for Erik's tongue. Charles' fingers dug into his shoulders, grasping the heavy jacket Erik wore. The soft moan Charles emitted into the kiss was almost as delicious as his lips. "I waited so long..." The quiet confession was all the invitation Erik needed; he withdrew his hands from Charles' hair and wrapped them around his waist and under his knees, lifting him. The man gasped as he was lifted and held tighter to Erik, uneasy at only feeling one of the strong arms that held him.

_Erik…__**  
><strong>_

Charles gazed lovingly up at the man who had stolen his heart as he, now, sat on the bed. He had once been afraid he would never see his heart again. He had thought Erik had left with it for good but before him stood the man he loved more than he, with all his fancy degrees and awards, could understand. As he gazed into Erik's eyes he could tell, without the use of his telepathy that Erik felt the exact same as he did. The mental manipulator captured his lips in another needy kiss. The night was filled with the touch of lips, teeth, tongues and skin, the air filled with heavy pants and soft moaning gasps, with names and whispered promises that would be broken once the sun rose.

_Don't leave…__**  
><strong>_

Slowly blue eyes opened as the feeling of emptiness slowly filled him. Erik's mind was fading, moving farther away from his. Charles sat up too fast, feeling dizzy as the blood rushed to his head to catch up with the rest of his body. Clutching his head with one hand and keeping himself up with the other he looked around, hoping maybe Erik was just in the bathroom but the door was open, he frantically looked to the balcony. Erik was nowhere in sight. He could feel the threat of tears begin to edge forward.

Giving his surroundings another look over his eyes finally rested on his wheelchair, it had been moved beside the bed for him to reach easier rather than left out on the balcony. The hot tears slowly slide down his cheeks as he reached out with his mind to his friend, his love. _Erik... Please come home. You don't have to leave!_ His mental voice betrayed him, he had wanted to sound reassuring and calm but instead the hurt and pain he felt at the man leaving shined through more than ever. _Please... Erik!_

That was the last Erik heard as he slipped his helmet back on his head.

Years slipped by again, it wasn't until the hearing for Mutant registration that they would see each other again. He knew it had been coming long before the humans had even given it a name. They were all the same, the Nazi's that killed his entire family and now the rest of the world threatening to expose his entire kind. First, they would make them register who they are and what they can do then there would be relocations and finally the camps. They would destroy all that Charles was working to accomplish, his beloved school and even the lives of his dear students. Erik wouldn't let that happen, he wouldn't let all Charles' work go to waste.

_My friend…_

"Erik." The voice was stronger now, almost completely lacking the beautiful accent that had come from years at Oxford. Erik paused; he didn't look back at the man sitting behind him in the wheelchair. He couldn't meet that strong, no doubt disappointed, gaze. It wasn't until he felt Charles once again in his mind, softly pulling him back to him, searching, that he turned around. The man that stood before him was much older now, but had aged gracefully, his hair was gone but that didn't change the fact he was beautiful. Erik knew what he looked like, old wrinkled, weathered from too many years of fighting, too many years of being against the rest of the world, too many years away from Charles. Still, the man in the wheelchair smiled. _I'll save you, Erik…_

"If this is what you call saving, Charles, I would have preferred to stay…" An intense dark blue gaze halted his trail of thought, leaving him unable to continue his sentence. "This is not what I meant at all." Erik tore his gaze away and looked around the small plastic prison, there was no metal he could reach and he couldn't even hear the soft hum of the material. His green eyes came to rest on the glass chess set before him, Charles was always white, the light to his dark, then to the hand resting beside the board. He hesitated, looking from Charles' hand to his face, creased with the small smile and age, then to the guard, then back to the hand. He reached out and set his hand over Charles'.

The kiss was hurried, only a brush of their lips, hardly a kiss at all. It was sweet but not enough, it would never be enough. Erik watched as Charles was pulled from his reach and wheeled away from him. _Erik… _The voice was soft in his mind, the presence gentle, caressing his entire being. Erik touched his lips; the kiss would have been enough if the next time they met was on neutral ground, but it wasn't, so the kiss wasn't enough.

_I love you…_

Erik slowly opened his eyes. The battle field was clearly marked with destruction, with the bodies of both humans and mutants and fire the bellowed smoke into the night. This was once what he had wanted more than anything, mutants taking a stand but it didn't seem to matter anymore. Green eyes spotted the wheelchair he had once created, customized as a present for a lover. Tear slowly formed but he closed his eyes, refusing to let them fall. None of this felt like it mattered anymore.

He opened his eyes immediately after closing them because all he saw was the look Charles gave him in his last moments. The soft smile that clung to the edges of his red lips and the slight fear in his dark blue eyes, it was forever scratched into his mind. His Charles was destroyed that day, killed by Phoenix; no trace had been left of his former lover, no trace except the wheelchair. The godforsaken wheelchair that he, Erik, had bound him to forever remained.

_Come back to me…_

Erik quickly backed away from the young man that stood in front of him. _He's not Charles_! Erik thought frantically, pained to his very core at the realization, but the man looked just like his friend had when he was younger, before the beach. The faint smile the man held grew a little wider. _But I am, Erik, my friend__, _the voice was soft, purely Charles, the presence caressing just like it had been the last time Charles said his name. The telepath reached out to the elder man and wiped the single tear away_. I've come to take you back home._

Soft fingers took a gentle hold on Erik's hand, drawing his attention down to their hands. His hand looked so much older than it already was compared to the soft, smooth hand of Charles. Slowly Charles began intertwining their fingers. Erik's old eyes widened, as he stared, dumbfounded as ever so slowly his wrinkled, weathered skin became younger. The wrinkles vanished, the small scars his hands had gained in recent years faded to nothing, his skin got its color back leaving his hand, his hands, as young as he had been when he met Charles, young to match Charles' own skin.

He looked back into Charles' bright blue eyes and saw himself reflected in the beauty there. He was young again, his once wrinkled face now smooth with the youth it had lost. He squeezed Charles' hand, just to make sure it was really there and he began to smile, Charles returned the gestures and took a step back, gently pulling Erik away from the stone table and chessboard.

Erik shook his head and pulled Charles back to him, pressing their lips together again. It was a soft, beautiful kiss that was broken almost as soon as it began but was soon replaced by a more feverish kiss that held more passion and love than beauty. As they kissed Erik began to hear the subtle song of the metal he controlled calling to him. The metal manipulator nipped Charles' lower lip and the other chuckled softly, breaking the kiss. Turning, fingers still intertwined with Erik's Charles began walking.

Erik happily followed his love.

He no longer felt the cold bite of the November air but the warmth that spread through his heart now that they were free, now that they were together. Wind continued to whisper through the trees and wrapped around the two lovers as they slowly faded from this world...

On the chessboard every piece still stood in its proper place except the two kings which lay side by side in the middle of the board.

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><p>Erik Lehnsherr, the once feared Magneto had died alone in the park in front of the chessboard.<p> 


End file.
